


Paladin

by Havanar



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode One, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Missing Scene, Red Paladin Keith (Voltron), Sharing a Bed, unsure keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 19:24:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16225712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Havanar/pseuds/Havanar
Summary: Keith comes to terms with being called a Paladin.





	Paladin

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while ago (around the time season 4 was released) so let's just pretend that Shiro and Keith were a thing before Kerberos. This was originally going to be a 5+1 fic (5 times Keith was called a paladin and 1 time he wasn't) but I sort of lost steam. There may be some additions in the future.

“We don’t have much time.”

Keith can hear the stress in Shiro’s voice, even after a year apart. He’s heard those words before, the thought flutters through his mind, different place, different time. Different contexts.

“Pidge and I will go after the green Lion." Everyone’s looking to Shiro for instructions, even the Alteans, and that’s not lost on Keith.

“Lance,” Shiro continues. “you take Hunk and get the yellow one.” Keith watches as Lance’s face breaks into a grin at the idea of … being in charge? Flying the Blue Lion? Going on a mission?

“Keith,” Accompanies a warm hand on his shoulder and Keith’s reaction is instant, turning, full bodied like a sunflower towards the sun, towards Shiro. “You stay here. If you locate the red lion, go get it.” He says. Its simple. It’s what he needs to do. It’s what Shiro needs Keith to do. So he nods. He’ll always do what Shiro asks of him.

“In the meantime, I’ll get this castle’s defences ready. They’ll be sorely needed.” Allura says, regaining everyone’s attention. But Keith can still feel that weight on his shoulder, Shiro's hand anchoring him.

  
“I’ll ready a pod and load the coordinates so that you can reach the Green Lion.” Coran adds on, “We can only keep the wormholes that lead to the other Lions open for two of your earth hours, so you’ll have to be quick about your work.”

The briefing is quick, over in less time than any Garrison briefing, and with less information than he would like. Shiro gives his shoulder a light pat before removing his hand and Keith is suddenly aware of how cold his shoulder is without it.

  
“See you on the other side.” Shiro gives him a grin and a wave as he begins to follow Coran and Pidge to the pods.

  
Keith knows he should say something. _Be safe. Come back soon. See you later._ Even just a simple goodbye but that feels too final. _Be safe, come back soon_ were his parting words to Shiro before the Kerberos mission, and look what happened to that. Instead he just gives Shiro a nod as he turns away. He’s not even sure if Shiro sees it.

The Blue Lion takes off first, shooting into the atmosphere, like a Bunsen burner flame as it fades into the distance. Next is the pod, with a delay of a few seconds, the creak of metal can be heard as it leaves the castle hanger, it appears in front of them shooting up towards the sky, almost catching up to the Blue Lion but not quite, until they veer away away from each other as they soar higher. Keith wonders if Shiro’s at the helm, or maybe these pods can fly themselves, and all Shiro has to do is sit back and relax. He hears Allura’s breath hitch as she places her hands on the two podiums, rising out of the floor panels.

  
“We can only keep the wormholes that lead to the other lions open for two of your earth hours,” Coran says as he speaks into what must be a communications feed. Keith peers up toward the sky, towards the blue and green specs, as two wormholes open. He watches as the green dot is sucked into one, and then it shuts, folding in on itself. And just like that Shiro is gone.

_Please come back safe, please come back safe, please come back safe._

  
The Castle control room feels much bigger now that he’s the only human present. Keith keeps his gaze fixed on the sky as Allura steps down from her podium and towards Coran.

  
“Two hours.” She says, she doesn’t sound like a powerful leader anymore, she sounds worried.

  
“Do you think they can manage it, Princess?” Coran asks, his tone hushed. Keith stays, frozen at the window, not wanting to break whatever _this_ is, as Allura takes a moment to gather herself.

“They’ll have to manage it Coran.” She finally answers.

 

“Yes, but two hours? That’s a little prickly, even for a seasoned Paladin.”

  
“The Lion’s called to them.” Allura continues, her voice sounding firmer. “The Lions brought them all the way here, they must live up to the Paladins of old.”

  
Coran gives an unsatisfied noise in return, but Keith just can’t help himself. He’s been chasing the energy in the desert for months, chasing the Blue Lion, he’s been feeling her energy all this time, and this might be his only shot at getting an answer.

  
“You said they called to us?” He asks, tearing his gaze away from the window and towards Allura. She’s standing next to Coran, leaning over the hologram, screen, thing, he had been using. She raises her eyes too meet his before straightening up, smoothing down her dress as she goes. Keith’s not sure he’s ever seen someone stand so straight, it’s like gravity is pulling her up instead of down. 

  
“That’s right.” She answers, giving him a steady gaze. “The lions choose their Paladins. If one is not worthy the Lion will not let them pilot.”

  
“Do the Lions call the one who will pilot them?” He continues. “Their- Paladin?” The word feels foreign on his tongue, it’s a word he knows, but not one he uses. He’s not sure if he knows it from history or from video games. Video games, probably, he thinks, the word conjuring images of fighters in large suits of armour, ready to defend, ready to bring justice to those in need.

  
“Sometimes.” Allura replies. “Why? Did you sense the Blue Lion?”

  
Keith nods in response. 

“Intriguing, very very intriguing.” Coran says, bounding towards Keith and looking him up and down. “Are you sure he’s not the Blue Paladin, Princess?”

  
Allura crosses her arms, her gaze taking in Keith once again. He feels it travel, from his slightly scuffed boots to the hair he gave up on cutting a few months ago. “Quite sure.”

“But if he was able to sense Blue Lion,” Coran continues, making a grab for Keith’s face and missing as Keith takes a step back.“Whoops, sorry for doubting you Red Paladin.” He says quickly.

  
“The Blue Lion may have spoken to you for a number of reasons;” Allura says, Coran returning to his place at her side. “Maybe you are more attuned to the Lion’s. Maybe you were the one most likely to bring the other Paladin’s together. Maybe you have an aptitude for multiple Lions. Maybe you were simply the closest.” Allura continues.

  
“But it _was_ calling to me?” He asks, his voice coming out weaker than he wanted it to. He wants to know, for sure, that the ship, the Lion, was what he’d been searching for. That there was a reason to it all. That he hadn’t just been going crazy in the desert.

  
“I believe so, yes.” Allura replies, meeting his gaze once again. “Because you are the Red Paladin, Keith.” She looks so sure of herself, so sure of Keith, so ready to throw herself back into this war that Keith can’t help the small grin spreading across his face. Paladin. There are people who need him, planets to protect. A giant, mechanical, sentient, Lion waiting for him. A team with a place for him. Somehow the word feels right, it all feels right. And all he has to do now is find his Lion.

 

* * *

 

 

Keith finds himself outside of Shiro’s door without even meaning to. He’s tired. He’s sure Shiro is tired too. But the thought of Shiro, alone, makes his heart hurt, as if his ribs are contracting, squeezing tighter and tighter. _It’s been a long day._ The voice in the back of his head says. _Even longer for Shiro._   _cras_ _hed to Earth, pulled back into space, sent to find a Green Lion..._ it continues as if someone’s leaning over and whispering in his ear. But Keith shakes it off. He hasn’t seen Shiro in a year. Not really, not properly.

_“It’s good to have you back.”_   
_“It’s good to be back.”_

That barely made up for a year apart, it barely made up for the questions he’d been left with when Shiro shot towards the sky. It definitely didn’t make up for Pilot Error. For the months he’d spent mourning Shiro’s death.

_“My head’s pretty scrambled.”_

And since getting to Arus, since discovering the Altean ship, the Green Lion, the Red Lion, Black Lion, they hadn’t even exchanged more than six words at a time. And so much had happened.

He takes a deep breath before even realising he needed to and wrenches his arm up to the door, knocking twice.

  
He hears the pad of footsteps.

  
“Yeah?” Shiro’s voice sounds, muffled from behind the door a split second before it slides open.

And there’s Shiro. He’s taken his armour off, unlike Keith who paced his room for twenty minutes before coming to the conclusion that he had to see Shiro.

Shiro’s standing in front of him with just his under suit clinging to his body, the stretchy material moulding itself to his body, accentuating the new muscles, the wider shoulders, the biceps. Keith can’t help his eye’s flicking to the places where Shiro has changed. First the chest, then his arms, then up to the scar across his nose.

  
“Keith?” He asks, and Keith finally settles on Shiro’s smoke coloured eyes as he tilts his head to the side. God he’d missed those eyes, the gentle grey like the smoke from a campfire, a controlled fire, one that burns slowly but will keep you warm.

“Come in.” Shiro says in a low voice and Keith follows him in, follows the warmth he’s been searching for ever since Shiro left for the sky.

The door slides shut behind him and Keith takes in the room. It’s a mirror of his. One bed, the same bedding. It looks slept in, unlike his. There’s a desk in the corner and Shiro’s clothes, the ones Keith had pulled from his father's wardrobe, are hanging up. And that’s it. That’s all Shiro has in the universe. Gone for a year, lost to god know’s what and all he has when he finally, finally, fights his way back is one outfit and a metal arm.

  
“Keith, what’s going on?” Shiro asks. Keith pulls his eyes away from the clothes to see Shiro watching him, his brow furrowed like he’s trying to figure out a puzzle.

“What’s wrong?” He probes, gentler this time. And Keith can’t stop the effect it has on him, flinging himself into Shiro’s arms.

Shiro catches him immediately.

Of course he does.

Arms rising to circle his waist, to hold him, to keep him from falling apart. And Keith lifts his arms to mirror Shiro's, reaching for his neck and hanging on for dear life. Tighter than the day Shiro left for Kerberos. Tighter than he’s probably ever hugged anyone in his life.

  
“I don’t know.” He mumbles. “So much has happened. I got you back, and now I’ve brought you into a war, and I just wanted to talk to you, to see if you were alright.” Shiro’s hand, he thinks its his flesh one, his real one, honestly Keith doesn’t care, is drawing small soothing circles on his back.

  
“I’m fine Keith.” He says, “I’m glad to be back.” Keith can hear the smile in his voice, Shiro sounds calmer than he has all day. But something doesn’t connect.

  
“But you’re not back.” Keith replies, pulling away and looking Shiro up and down. Searching for a sign, a clue, that he isn’t alright. There’s none of the stress in his voice. It doesn’t sound as ragged as it had during the fight. His eye’s look softer than they have all day, he isn’t standing to attention like he had been all day in front of the Princess and the others. He looks like the Shiro Keith remembers, the Shiro who laughed with him in the library, the Shiro who took him out for cheap meals at the local family restaurant, who challenged him to stupid shooters in the arcade.

“You’re not on Earth.” Keith continues. “You’re miles from Earth, you’re probably farther than Kerberos, all you have are the clothes on your back and-”

“And you.” Shiro finishes for him, guiding him gently to the bed. Shiro sits down before Keith, reaching for his hand and giving him a tug. And Keith just. Collapses. Next to Shiro. Staring dumbly at his feet.

“You are home for me Keith. You know that.” Shiro continues, “I don’t care if all I have is armour, I don’t care if I’m naked, so long as I’m with you.”

“You wont even get changed in the locker rooms at the Garrison.” Keith mumbles. “You would care if you were naked.” Shiro lets out a laugh, a loud, happy laugh, straight from the belly.

“You got me there buddy.” He say’s, metal hand reaching out for Keith’s cheek, bringing Keith to face him. It doesn’t feel cold, like Keith had expected. It just feels a touch harder, stronger, than he remembers. Keith brings his own hand up to cover it and Shiro’s grin turns into a smile.

“You got me." Shiro repeats, leaning in to plant a kiss on Keith’s lips. It’s quick, chaste, Keith can feel his cheeks heating, Shiro still smells like the shampoo from his shack and sweat. Like a after a sparring session at the garrison. And if Keith closes his eyes he can pretend it’s just one of those days.

When Shiro pulls away his cheeks are also dusted a light pink, “are we clear cadet?” He asks and Keith punches his right arm back lightly. It’s harder now, forged with steal, but Keith pretends that he can’t feel the difference.

  
“I’m not a cadet anymore.” He says, his tone changing.  _Fuck. He hadn't meant to drop that bomb on Shiro today._  The grin falls from Shiros face in a split second.

“You’re, what?” He asks, his tone turning concerned and Keith doesn’t know what to do, so he brushes it off. 

“It’s fine.” He says quickly, “We can deal with that one another time.”

Shiro regards him for a second, his eye’s seeming to say are you sure? Are you okay? And Keith hasn’t felt so caught out since that social worker came for a surprise visit when he was eight and caught him eating cereal out of the box in an empty house. But Shiro doesn’t probe, he doesn’t grab Keith and ask him, to explain himself. His face just relaxes.

“Right.” He concludes. And that’s that. Shiro’s back to smiling, and playing with his hair, twisting locks around his fingers like an infinity symbol.

“Well,” Shiro continues. “It’s kinda late. And I wouldn’t want you walking home on your own.” He adds and Keith snorts.

“Yeah, it’s such a long way.”

“Mm” Shiro agrees. “Why don’t we get you out of that armour?” He asks, fingers leaving his hair and reaching for Keith’s arm instead. Shiro hits the release on the forearm guards and pulls them off slowly, then the other arm. Keith just lets him, sits there like a doll for Shiro to rearrange as he likes. With every piece of armour Shiro removes Keith feels lighter. The armour isn’t even that heavy, it’s light, breathable, some kind of Altean material that barely weighs him down when he fights. Keith lets out a sigh as Shiro finally removes the breast plate, as if it was constricting his chest.

  
Shiro pauses for the briefest moment, taking him in before sitting down on his bed, an arm reaching out and grabbing onto Keith’s, pulling him down until they’re lying side by side, facing the ceiling. Lying with Shiro, shoulder to shoulder, is familiar and Keith lets himself sigh into it, relaxing his body, melting into Shiro’s side. When he chances a glimpse at Shiro’s face through the corner of his eye he doesn’t see much change. Not really. There’s a scar across the bridge of his nose, but he’s still Shiro. The same strong jaw, the one Keith had fantasised about kissing. The same steady determination in his eye’s as he looked up, in their Garrison day’s Shiro would’ve been looking at the sky, he would tell Keith that anything could happen up there, that they could be anything. He would tell Keith that one day they’d get there. Together.

  
“You’re right, you’re not a cadet anymore,” Shiro says, his gaze turning to meet Keith’s, “you’re a Paladin.” He says, the look in his eye’s so full of admiration that Keith can feel it, can feel the way it drips from his words.

  
Keith swallows stiffly. It’s a heavy weight. Paladin. A knight renowned for heroism and chivalry.

  
“I-” He stumbles, “Maybe I’m not right to be a Paladin.” He forces out, determinedly not looking at Shiro. “I tried to protect your name, they blamed you Shiro, I was just trying to protect you,” He says in a rush, but Shiro is already shushing him, turning over so that he can pull Keith into his chest and wrap his arms around him.

  
“But I couldn’t even do that.” Keith finishes, whispers into the space between Shiro’s neck and his shoulder.

  
“You ran into a Garrison base for me Keith, if anyone is fit to be a Paladin it’s you.”

 


End file.
